Strategic Support From Japan’s Strongest and Largest Independent Music Company Strengthens Orchard’s Positioning Across Key Japanese Digital Stores and Mobile Services
New Release From Multi-Platinum Artist Ashanti Marks First Joint Initiative
The Orchard (NASDAQ: ORCD), a global leader in music and video entertainment, today announced a strategic alliance with Avex, Japan's foremost independent music company and key shareholder in Japan’s dominant mobile content joint-venture, Label Mobile. Japan is the second-largest music market in the world.
The partnership offers Orchard clients support from Avex’s local retail service teams to market selected Orchard clients across Japan’s leading digital stores and mobile services, including LABEL MOBILE INC.'s "Reco-choku" mobile portals, Label Gate Co.,Ltd's "mora" download store as well as Avex's own "Mu-Mo" mobile and PC download services.
For Avex, the deal transforms the breadth, depth and strength of Avex’s international repertoire. In particular, across Japan’s three leading mobile carriers, the collaboration ensures optimum marketing leverage for The Orchard in a market where mobile services represent some 90% of digital music sales, according to IFPI reports.
“In Japan, perhaps more so than any global territory, patience, perseverance, and a strong conviction as to who is the right local partner can pay enormous dividends,” said Greg Scholl, President and CEO of The Orchard. "In Avex, we have confidence that The Orchard is working with the strongest and best independent - in effect, a ‘major label’ within the Japanese market. Our five years of operating history in Japan have led to this important moment, and we are optimistic about what this partnership will mean for our clients.”
Orchard and Avex marketing experts will collaborate to develop innovative programs that draw from The Orchard’s substantial and diverse catalogue. Through this, they find music, and methods of promoting it, that resonate best with Japanese music consumers and due to Avex’s strong local presence, ensure these titles get the retail merchandising they deserve. The first collaborative release will be Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum sensation Ashanti's “The Vault”, a new album of 12 previously un-released recordings from the R&B songstress. The album includes the hit single "Let's Do Something Crazy", which features the Grammy-Nominated, platinum selling rapper and producer Flo-Rida. “The Vault” streets digitally for PC downloads, ringtones, and mobile full track downloads on January 21st, 2009, followed by the album’s physical release across Japan’s leading retailers in early February.
Editors Notes:
About Avex Marketing, Inc.
Avex Marketing Inc. is the strategic subsidiary of Avex Group, a fully integrated entertainment business group based in Tokyo. The Group is unique in terms of both the breadth and caliber of its business activities. Its major business segments include artist management, musical/visual content production, physical/digital distribution, concert production as well as IP rights development. Its unmatched, seamless in-house platform allows Avex to maximize value for artist and the corporate brand as a whole, thereby enabling the Avex label to achieve the No.1 market share in the Japanese music market. Avex Group Holdings Inc. the holding company of the Group is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
About The Orchard®
The Orchard (NASDAQ: ORCD) controls and globally distributes more than 1.3 million songs and over 5,000 video titles through hundreds of digital stores (e.g. iTunes, eMusic, Google, Netflix, V CAST) and mobile carriers (e.g. Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, Bell Canada, 3). With operations in 29 regions around the world, The Orchard drives sales for its label, retailer, brand, and agency clients through innovative marketing and promotional campaigns; brand entertainment programs; and film, advertising, gaming and television licensing. A pioneer in digital music and media services, The Orchard fosters creativity and independence.
The Orchard is a registered trademark and The Orchard logo is a service mark of Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Forward Looking Statements
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding The Orchard's expectations regarding future events and operating performance within the meaning of Federal Securities laws that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the ability of The Orchard to distribute certain products and artist recordings. Undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements as they speak only as of the date hereof, and The Orchard undertakes no obligation to update these statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances except as may be required by law. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking statements are contained in The Orchard's most recent periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contacts:
For The Orchard:
Europe
Simon Lait, + 44
(0)1832 720 292
simon@theorchard.com
or
USA
Edelman
Jackie
Price, 212-704-4549
jackie.price@edelman.com
or
For
Avex:
Investors & Public Relations Room
+ 81 (3) 5413
8508
ir@av.avex.co.jp
